OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 02: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts in the first half while taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 2, 2016 in Oakland, California.

Draymond Green Suspended After His Actions Rise To The Level Of Significant Discipline

After a heated late-game exchange during Monday night’s 121-116 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (8-5), and after hours of organizational conversations between the Golden State Warriors senior leadership, the Warriors (12-3) decided to suspend Draymond Green for one game without pay.

Kevin Durant was slapping his hands and calling for the ball as Green gathered a defensive rebound in the final moments of Monday’s game. Green got the ball and tried to move up the court but lost control and failed to take a shot.

Several of Green’s teammates challenged him on his decision-making, which led to another confrontation after the game in the Warriors locker room.

GSW senior leadership were unwilling to dismiss Green’s verbiage toward Durant, citing that his actions rose to the level of significant discipline.

“We just felt like this rose to the level of acting the way that we did,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said at a news conference before Tuesday night’s game in Oakland. “That’s a decision that we have to make. I’m certainly involved in it, so is Steve [Kerr, the Warriors’ coach]. … This was something that required the action that we decided upon.”

Here is the full KD-Draymond exchange. It’s 3 minutes of KD being passively aggressively angry and Draymond just yelling non-stop.

Green’s suspension which will cost him $120,480 and may put a strain on the team’s future together.

“Knowing him for however many years I’ve known him, if caring too much is something that he struggles with, well, that’s who he is,” Myers said of Green. “We felt that this action merited the decision we made, but I have every confidence that he can move forward with it, our team can move forward with it, our organization, our players. Because again, this is part of the NBA, this is part of what happens.”

“Draymond is always going to be who he is,” Kerr said. “Draymond is a powerful force. You guys know that. He’s a huge reason why we’ve had so much success here, and Draymond is going to continue playing the way he plays, and I don’t see him operating any other way.”

Durant left the locker room abruptly and marched directly to the team bus. Green was one of the primary Warriors players responsible for recruiting Durant to Golden State three years ago from Oklahoma City.

The Warriors will head to Texas Thursday to face off against the Houston Rockets (6-7). The game will air at 8:00 p.m. EST on TNT and NSBA.

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